Keith E. Vinicombe is a British

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

and writer on bird identification. Vinicombe is best known for his first book, the '' Macmillan Field Guide to Bird Identification''. Subsequent publications include ''Rare Birds in Britain and Ireland - a photographic record'', co-authored with David Cottridge, in which Vinicombe set out to explain theories about bird vagrancy in Britain and western Europe, including reverse migration. He is identification consultant to '' Birdwatch'' magazine, and has written extensively on bird identification in ''Birdwatch'', and other British journals, including ''

Birding World ''Birding World'' was a monthly birdwatching, birding magazine published in the United Kingdom. It was the magazine of the Bird Information Service, based at Cley next the Sea, Norfolk. With the publication of issue No. 26/12 in January 2014, ''Bi ...

'' and '' British Birds''. He has served on both the

British Birds Rarities Committee The British Birds Rarities Committee (BBRC), established in 1959, is the national bird rarities committee for Britain. It assesses claimed sightings of bird species that are rarely seen in Britain, based on descriptions, photographs and video re ...

and the

British Ornithologists' Union Records Committee The British Ornithologists' Union (BOU) aims to encourage the study of birds (ornithology) around the world in order to understand their biology and aid their conservation. The BOU was founded in 1858 by Professor Alfred Newton, Henry Baker Tr ...

. His regular birding patch is

Chew Valley Lake Chew Valley Lake () is a reservoir in Chew Stoke, Chew Valley, Somerset, England. It is the fifth-largest artificial lake in the United Kingdom, with an area of . The lake, created in the early 1950s, was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1956. ...

, where he has found numerous rare birds. Elsewhere in Avon, he is responsible for finding nine county firsts. Elsewhere in Britain, his finds include Britain's second

ring-billed gull The ring-billed gull (''Larus delawarensis'') is a medium-sized gull native to North America, breeding in Canada and the northern Contiguous United States, and wintering mainly in the United States and northern Mexico. The genus name is from Lat ...

and the first

lesser scaup The lesser scaup (''Aythya affinis'') is a small North American diving duck that migrates south as far as Central America in winter. It is colloquially known as the little bluebill or broadbill because of its distinctive blue bill. The origin of ...

and

Blyth's reed warbler __NOTOC__ Blyth's reed warbler (''Acrocephalus dumetorum'') is a species of reed warbler belonging to the family Acrocephalidae, which also includes the tree warblers. Blyth's reed warbler breeds across the Palearctic zoogeographical region and wi ...

for the

Isles of Scilly The Isles of Scilly ( ; ) are a small archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, Isles of Scilly, St Agnes, is over farther south than the most southerly point of the Great Britain, British mainla ...

. He was also among the observers who confirmed the identification of Britain's only

Mediterranean short-toed lark The Mediterranean short-toed lark (''Alaudala rufescens'') is a small passerine bird found in and around the Mediterranean Basin. It is a common bird with a very wide range from Canary Islands north to the Iberian Peninsula and east throughout N ...

, at

Portland Bill Portland Bill is a narrow promontory (or bill) at the southern end of the Isle of Portland, and the southernmost point of Dorset, England. One of Portland's most popular destinations is Portland Bill Lighthouse. Portland's coast has been notori ...

in 1992. Vinicombe has also studied the status of vagrant

wildfowl The Anatidae are the biological family of water birds that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica. These birds are adapted for swimming, floating o ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

and

northwest Europe Northwestern Europe, or Northwest Europe, is a loosely defined subregion of Europe, overlapping Northern Europe, Northern and Western Europe. The term is used in geographic, history, and military contexts. Geographic definitions Geography, Geo ...

, in particular that of

ruddy shelduck The ruddy shelduck (''Tadorna ferruginea''), known in India as the Brahminy duck, is a bird species in the family Anatidae. It is a distinctive waterfowl, in length with a wingspan of . It has orange-brown body plumage with a paler head, whil ...

and

white-headed duck The white-headed duck (''Oxyura leucocephala'') is a small diving duck some long. The male has a white head with black crown, a blue bill, and reddish-grey plumage. The female has a dark bill and rather duller colouring. Its breeding habitat is ...

. A paper on the former species (co-authored with

Andrew Harrop Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...

) was published in ''British Birds'' in 1999. Vinicombe and the bird artist

Laurel Tucker Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

were personal and professional partners for a period during the 1980s, until Tucker's death in 1986.

Major publications

* * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vinicombe, Keith Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British ornithological writers